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I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

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Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

#121

Post by arghwhat »

renewiltord wrote: post #65
nickjj wrote: post #9

That was a fun read. I wish the author mentioned how much he was trying to sell the service for. It could have been $59 a month or $599 a month and with doctors you could potentially expect the same answer. I'm not a psychologist but some of the author's quoted text came off extremely demeaning in written form. If the author happens to read this, did you really say those things directly to them? For example, Susan (p…

Based on the response he got, it was the right question, actually. People aren't Internet-style insecure in real-life, especially those who have high social cred (like doctors). Even accounting for the humorous exaggeration, the kind of question asked from a professional doctor is less likely to cause them to be offended and more likely for them to just tell you why not. They're not going to be "How dare you question…

Although do note that doctors are just humans, with all the same flaws. There's just a bias in the kinds of humans that tend obtain the title.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

#122

Post by james1071 »

nickjj wrote: post #9

That was a fun read. I wish the author mentioned how much he was trying to sell the service for. It could have been $59 a month or $599 a month and with doctors you could potentially expect the same answer. I'm not a psychologist but some of the author's quoted text came off extremely demeaning in written form. If the author happens to read this, did you really say those things directly to them? For example, Susan (p…

He had not the slightest idea of how doctors prescribe drugs.

The typical doctor has minimal training in evaluating medicines - that is not their job.

They defer to so-called opinion-leaders, who are the experts on particular diseases.

These people are the targets of drug companies' marketing - think scientific conferences in 5 star hotels in exotic locations.

The cost of influencing them would be millions.

So,the author was barking up the wrong tree.

That's not to say that he didn't have something, but had no idea how to market it.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

#123

Post by jrochkind1 »

stevewodil wrote: post #96
jrochkind1 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was ready to agree with you because question in the OP wasn't so bad, but "So you have perfect user retention then?" -- seriously? Yeah, that's being demeaning. Maybe being demeaning is a good sales technique, I dunno, but that's definitely being a jerk. But "Are you sure increasing your user retention isn't worth something to you?" or something like that maybe.

It really depends on your tonality when you say it. In either case, saying "Are you sure increasing your user retention isn't worth something to you?" is just going to be met with another "No, we don't need it" from the other end. "So you have perfect user retention then?" is a better question because you know for a fact that they can't have 100% user retention and they know that as well so it forces further dialogue…

i guess this is why I'm not a salesperson. If it works it works, but I'm having trouble accepting that it's not demeaning, which was the original contention. Because it's not really a question at all, it's a sarcastic question. Maybe being demeaning gets sales, sure.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

#124

Post by eightysixfour »

PeterisP wrote: post #114
ihumanable wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm grateful for this comment because it put into words the thing I couldn't. I'm reading the epiphany part of this post, to quote: You have a mind-shattering headache. You're standing in the aisle of your local CVS, massaging your temples while scanning the shelves for something—anything—to make make the pain stop. What do you reach for? Tylenol? Advil? Aleve? Most people, I imagine, grab whatever's cheapest, or clo…

Waiit - "You have a mind-shattering headache. [..] What do you reach for? " - isn't this where you're supposed or even required to ask the pharmacist? You know, the person who has the years-long training to know drug effects, limitations and interactions with other drugs?

I'd say yes but the last time I was truly sick (flu) my roommate went to the store and asked the pharmacist what to give me and came back home with a bunch of homeopathic sugar pills. My trust in other humans is pretty low for this sort of stuff.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

#125

Post by webel0 »

nickjj wrote: post #9

That was a fun read. I wish the author mentioned how much he was trying to sell the service for. It could have been $59 a month or $599 a month and with doctors you could potentially expect the same answer. I'm not a psychologist but some of the author's quoted text came off extremely demeaning in written form. If the author happens to read this, did you really say those things directly to them? For example, Susan (p…

> Imagine walking into the office of someone who spent the last ~10 years at school and then potentially 20 years practicing their craft as a successful psychologist and then you waltz in and tell them what they prescribe is wrong and your automated treatment plan is better.

As I understand it, this is exactly what new pharmaceutical sales reps are asked to do?

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

#126

Post by james1071 »

ketzo wrote: post #41
dan-robertson wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The conversations are surely paraphrased and exaggerated—just look at the style of the rest of the article. The position that doctors should be trying new things to improve their care sounds good but in practice most doctors are strongly biased towards the status quo and usually inaction is preferred to a slightly unknown action, even if that action has better expectancy.

I dunno. I think tech people have a tendency to assume they know for certain that they have a better solution, and their words/tone can reflect that in a way that can come off as very insulting to people who have been working in the space for literal decades. Not everyone, and not all the time. But many people, and often enough that it's a stereotype. So I think it's worth considering, particularly when you're lookin…

He struck me as completely oblivious to what was likely to have been a complete lack of interest.

His approach was never going to work, as doctors do not spend their time evaluating drugs in the way that he imagined.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

#127

Post by james1071 »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #123
stevewodil wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really depends on your tonality when you say it. In either case, saying "Are you sure increasing your user retention isn't worth something to you?" is just going to be met with another "No, we don't need it" from the other end. "So you have perfect user retention then?" is a better question because you know for a fact that they can't have 100% user retention and they know that as well so it forces further dialogue…

i guess this is why I'm not a salesperson. If it works it works, but I'm having trouble accepting that it's not demeaning, which was the original contention. Because it's not really a question at all, it's a sarcastic question. Maybe being demeaning gets sales, sure.

Agree with you on that.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

#129

Post by james1071 »

webel0 wrote: post #125
nickjj wrote: post #9

That was a fun read. I wish the author mentioned how much he was trying to sell the service for. It could have been $59 a month or $599 a month and with doctors you could potentially expect the same answer. I'm not a psychologist but some of the author's quoted text came off extremely demeaning in written form. If the author happens to read this, did you really say those things directly to them? For example, Susan (p…

> Imagine walking into the office of someone who spent the last ~10 years at school and then potentially 20 years practicing their craft as a successful psychologist and then you waltz in and tell them what they prescribe is wrong and your automated treatment plan is better. As I understand it, this is exactly what new pharmaceutical sales reps are asked to do?

It's not hard to get a doctor's attention when he knows you will provide him with golf days and holidays, if he plays his cards right.

Re: I wasted $40k on a fantastic startup idea

#130

Post by starkd »

dan-robertson wrote: post #26
nickjj wrote: post #9

That was a fun read. I wish the author mentioned how much he was trying to sell the service for. It could have been $59 a month or $599 a month and with doctors you could potentially expect the same answer. I'm not a psychologist but some of the author's quoted text came off extremely demeaning in written form. If the author happens to read this, did you really say those things directly to them? For example, Susan (p…

The conversations are surely paraphrased and exaggerated—just look at the style of the rest of the article. The position that doctors should be trying new things to improve their care sounds good but in practice most doctors are strongly biased towards the status quo and usually inaction is preferred to a slightly unknown action, even if that action has better expectancy.

Right, and both doctors and patients don't want to run another experiment. If they are comfortable with a certain drug, that's a good enough indication its a good first step to getting better.
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